Self-sealing leveller-door closure for coke ovens



June 1948- L. WILPUTTE 2, ,39

SELF-SEALING LEVELLER-DOOR CLOSURE FOR COKE OVENS Filed Feb. 24, 1944 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m z/ /7 a? an a iNVENTOR ATTORNEY June 1, 1948. .L. WILPUTTE 2,442,391

SELF-SEALING LEVELLER-DOOR CLOSURE FOR COKE OVENS Filed Feb. 24, 1944 I 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR lad/l5 lV/zoulfe ATTORNEY Patented June 1, 1948 SELF- SEALING LEVELLER-DOOR CLOSURE FOR COKE OVENS Louis .Wilputte, New York, N. Y., assignor to Allied Chemical & Dye Corporation, a corpora tion of New York Application February 24, 1944, Serial No. 523,617

Claims. ((31.202-248) The present invention relates to door closures, and more particularly to the so-called chuck" or coke oven leveler doors.

It is common practice in the coke Oven art to provide each door on the pusher side of the battery near the upper portion thereof with a small opening, to permit, entrance into the coking chamber and withdrawal from the coking chamber of the leveler bar which functions to level the charge of coal introduced into the chamber. A door is employed to close this opening during the coking of the coal charge, which door is opened to permit the entrance of the leveler bar into and its withdrawal from the coking chamber.

In known leveler door structures the pressure necessary for a tight seal of the leveler doorhas been applied for the most part either by means of a hand wheelon a threaded bolt, movement of which wheel in one direction tends to force the dOOr toward its seat and in-another direction permits movement of the door away from the seat, or by a locking bar driven tightly against a latch by a wedge action. In these structures the pressure exerted on the door varies greatly, depending upon the design of door, the strength of the operator, and the attention given by him to the closing of the door.

description thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a section taken in a plane lying horizontally and extending through the leveler door embodying my invention along line l-l of Figure 2.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of the leveler door embodying my invention;

Figure 3 is a detailed side elevation taken in the direction indicated by the arrows 33'0n Figure 2.

, In the-preferred embodiment illustrated on the drawing the invention isshown incorporated in a leveler-door for a coke oven on the pusher side of a coke oven battery, and the present description will be confined to the illustrated embodiment of the invention. It will be understood, however, the novel features and improvements are susceptible to other applications, such, for example, as door closures for openings other than leveler door openings or doors not of the self-sealing type, as is the door shown on the drawing.

' Hence, the scope of this invention is not con Furthermore, the levelin door opening is im- 1 pinged on its side within the coking chamber by the distillation gases evolved in the coking chamber. Accordingly, condensation of tarry and pitchy constituents takesplace on the leveling door frame which deposits tend to interfere with proper seating of the-door. After the door' is closed and the coking chamber is heated up, these deposits soften, and in heretofore known leveler doors provide a leakage space between the leveler door and the leveler door frame.

It is an object of this invention to provide a self-sealing door closure, particularly a self-sealing leveler door, in which a constant and-uni: form pressure is exerted on the door to maintain it in seated position, which pressure functions to force the sealing edge of the door into and through any tar or pitchy material on the door frame to maintain a tight seal, Another object is to provide a door closure equipped with a latch for maintaining the doorv in closed position,

which closure is substantially fool-proof, i. e., unless the dooris latch'ed 'so that the desired pressure is exerted on the door to maintain it in sealing engagement with the door frame the door will spring open.

Other objects and advantages of this inven-, tion will be apparent from the'following detailed fined to the embodimenthereindescribed.

In the drawing referencecharacter I. indicates the door frame defining the coke oven door opening on-th'e pusher side of the coke oven battery. This opening is adapted to'be closed by a door indicated generally by the reference character 2 comprising an inner plug section 3, a sealing member 6 carrying sealing knife edge 5:,"a'nd a supporting frame 6. Bolts 'ipass thr, h the supporting frame Gand are adaptedlto befadjusted to tensionthe sealing plate, 6 to maintain the knife edge 5 in desired sealing engagement with the door frame. The construction of the coke oven door, which does not form a part of this invention, may be of any desired type. It may be of the same general type as that disclosed in my patent 2,238,239 of April 15, 1941, or in Figs. 5 and 6 of Patent No. 2',126, 239,granted August 9, 1938, to which reference maybe had for a more detailed description of the door construction.

- bottom of the leveler door opening 8., Welded to the edgesof late is a metal ,sealingframe 3. l2 adapted to makeknife-edgecontact with the door frame 9. The inner surface of plate ii is protected against the high'temperatures generated within the coking chamber by a heavy -metal plate member I: which may be secured over plate I i by nuts and bolts l4 passing through a spider IS on the outer side of the flexible plate- II, which spider is hereinafter more fully described. If desired, a metal frame It may be formed integrally with or fastened to the plate ii to provide a holder for a refractory lining l1. While a self-sealing type of door has been described and represents a preferred embodiment of the invention, it will be understood that other types of doors, such as rigid doors not of the self-sealing type making edge contact with the door frame, may be used.

The spider l5, which may be a casting having a housing portion II and four arms, each identifled by the reference character l9, extending from the housing portion l8 and terminating in bosses 2., as above noted, is secured to the outer side of the flexible metal plate II by nut and bolts 14. Suitable spacers 2|, which may be cupshaped flexible members, are provided between the heavy metal plate 13 and the flexible metal plate i I so that when the nuts are drawn tight on the bolts the heavy metal protecting plate I3 is maintained in spaced relation relative to the flexible plate II, and this plate retains its flexibility thus insuring a gas-tight seal between the sealing edge i2 and the door frame 1!.

Standards 22 are mounted on the coke oven door. These standards may be integral with the supporting frame of the coke oven door or may 35 be bolted, welded or otherwise secured thereto. In the embodiment of the invention shown in the drawings two standards 22. are employed providing a bearing for the pivot pin 22, the longitudi nal axis of which extends in the samelongitudinal 40 mounted ona pin 33 disposedintheforkedend 34 ofthearm24. Thelatchlinkfl isnivotaliy mounted on pivot pin mounted in standards 36 which, like the standards 22, may be integral with or suitably fastened to the supporting frame of the coke oven door. The link II has a plane or bearing surface 31 at the end thereof directly opposite pivot pin to engage the roller 32. A stop member 38 is formed integral with arm 24 and is adapted to be engaged by an extension 39 on the link 3| to limit the travel of the link in a direction toward the left-hand side, v'iewin Figure 2 of the drawing, 1. e., when extension 22 engages stop member 2| further movement of the link is prevented and the bearing surface 31 exerts substantially maximum pressure on the roller 22 to maintain the leveler door in sealing engagement with the leveler door frame.

1 A second stop member 4. is formed integral with the portion of the link pivoted on pivot pin 35. When the link is swung in a right-hand diit is desired to seal or unseal the leveler door, and

spring 21. This spring 21 is maintained under partial compression in housing 28 by means of bolts 20 which may be formed integral with or secured tothe housing portion 18 of the spider II and extend through the flattened portion 29 of the arm 24 defining the top or cover portion of the housing 2!.

The openings in the flattened portion 2! of the arm 24 through which the bolts 24 extend are slightly larger than the diameter of the bolts, ermitting limited movement of the arm 24. A nut 2| is provided for each bolt 22 and these nuts may be adjusted to vary as desired the pressure exerted by the Spring.

As above indicated, the .spring 21 is confined in the housing 26 under partial compression: the amount of compression, however. is somewhat less than that employed to maintain the sealing door in sealing engagement when the door is in closed position and the lever arm 24 latched to hold this I door in closed position under a predetermined constant pressure. The latch mechanism employed for so holding the door is dispowd at the side of the coke oven door opposite that in which the pivot pin 22 is mounted. This latch mechanism consists of a latch link If, hereinafter more after sealing the handle may be removed. Thus, only one handle is required by the Operator for eifecting opening and closing of the door.

When it is desired to close and seal the door, the arm 24 is first moved to place the door in position over the door frame 9, latch link II is next swung about its pivot pin so that the bearing surface 21 engages the roller 22 and move- .ment of the latch link continued until the extension 39 engages stop 28, in which position. through action of the bearing surface 21 on the roller 22, the spring 21 is further compressed to the extent desired to maintain the sealing door in sealing engagement.

It is important to note when the link II is in position to eflect sealing of the door the longitudinal axis of the link 3| indicated by line 42' is disposed transversely, i. e., to the left, viewing Figure 1. of the axis of roller 32. With this construction, if the operator does not move the latch link 2| a distance such that the longitudinal axis of the link 31 is disposed transversely of the axis of the roller 32, the spring 21 will cause the arm '24 to move the latch link ll about its pivot 24 so that it will be evident to the operator the door is not full closed. In order to properly close the door, the operator must move the link 2| to a position such that its longitudinal axis is disposed to the left, viewing Figure 1, of the axis of the roller 32, preferably so that the extension 22 engages stop 38. When this is done, a predetermined constant, uniform ressure is exerted on the door to maintain it in sealing engagement with the door frame. Hence, the door of the invention is substantially fool-proof.

It will be further noted that in the design of door herein described the action of the spring continues to be applied uniformly to the sealing edge of the door and thus forces this edge into any tar or pitchy deposit which may be present on the doorframe, the pressure being exerted on the sealing edge at all times so that even though this tar or pitchy deposit soften a tight seal between the sealing edge and the doorframe is still provided. Furthermore,- due to the flexibility of fully described, cooperating with a rolle 3.2 78 the sealing plate ii, any slight warpage of the door. frame which might becaused by the intense heat to which the door is subjected is compensated for.

It is to be understood that this invention is not restricted to the present disclosure otherwise than as defined by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A self-sealing levelerdoor for a leveler door opening in a coke oven door comprising a leveler door frame; a leveler door comprising a flexible metal plate, a sealing frame secured to the flexible metal plate to engage the said door frame and a housing portion; an arm pivoted at one side of the door, extending thereacross and having a portion cooperating with the aforesaid housing portion to house a compression spring; the compression spring in said housing being maintained in partially compressed condition; a latch mechsaid sealing surface, a pivoted arm on which said door is mounted, the said arm being disposed across the width of the door and having a portion thereof extending beyond the door, a compresanism on the other side of the door, said latch mechanism comprising a pivoted link, a roller on said arm, said roller being disposed to be engaged by a bearing surface on said link, said latch mechanism being constructed and arranged so that when the latchmechanism is moved into position to effect sealing of the door the longitudinal axis of the link is disposed laterally relative to the axis of the roller.

2. A self-sealing leveler door closure for a leveler door-opening in a coke oven door for a coking chamber opening, comprising a leveler door frame, a leveler door comprising a flexible metal sealing frame having a knife edge for making edge contact with said door frame, a heavy plate protecting said flexible metal sealing frame against the high temperatures generated within the coking chamber, a compression spring, means on said sealing frame providing a bearing support for said compression spring, said means being constructed and arranged so that the pressure of said compression spring is substantially uniformly distributed by said means throughout the entire periphery of said sealing frame, said compression spring being maintained under partial compression at all times, and means for further compressing said spring to maintain said knife edge in sealing engagement with the door frame when it is desired to seal the leveler door opening.

3. A self-sealing leveler door closure, comprising a door frame having a sealing surface, a door comprising a flexible metal sealing plate having a knife edge for engagement with the said sealing surface, a pivoted arm on which said door is mounted, the said arm being disposed across the width of the door and having a portion thereof extending beyond the door, a compression spring between said arm and the door for exerting pressure on the door to maintain it in sealing engagement with the said sealing surface, said spring being maintained in a partially compressed condition, a latch mechanism for engaging the said portion of said arm, said latch mechasion spring between said arm and the door for exerting pressure on the door to maintain it in sealing engagement with the said sealing surface, said spring being maintained in a partially compressed condition, a latch mechanism for engag-.

ing the said extending portion of said arm, said latch mechanism comprising a pivoted link, a roller carried by said arm, and a bearing surface on said link to engage said roller to further oompress the spring to exert a desired pressure on the door, said link having a portion adapted to engage the arm when the link is swung. in position to release the door from sealing engagement with the door frame to break the seal between the door and the door frame.

5. A self-sealing leveler door closure for a leveler door opening in a coke oven door for a coking chamber opening comprising a leveler door frame, a leveler door comprising a flexible metal sealing frame having a knife edge for making edge contact with said door frame, a compression spring, means on said sealing frame providing a bearing surface for said compression spring, said'means being constructed and arranged so that the pressure of said compression spring is substantially uniformly distributed by said means throughout the entire periphery of said sealing frame, closure operating means engaging said spring to partially compress the same, and means engaging said closure operating means to further compress said spring to maintain said knife edge in sealing engagement with the door frame when it is desireddgo seal the leveler door opening.

LOUIS wm'ro'rra.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of thispatent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

